Kasimir arrives at the winery shortly after the party finishes breakfast. He says that Luvash and Arrigal request their presence for returning Arrabelle. The party escorts the wine from the winery back to the Vistani camp. Luvash is overjoyed to have his daughter back and Arrigal is doubly overjoyed to see the casks of wine heading toward his camp. They offer the party items as a reward. The party divvies out the loot. Bjorn receives the shield (+1 and fire resistance); Gilly takes the gloves (of swimming and climbing); Roger gets the tan bag (of tricks); Vannan is given a dagger (of warning) and a pendant (periapt of wound closure); Victor is given a staff (of the python).
They tell Kasimir they have to restore the flow of wine in Barovia and head out to the ruins of Berez. After traveling through the marsh for a few hours, Vannan detects they are not alone. Skeletons begin to rise out of the muck, some with devil-horned helmets. These seems unusually resilient as they continue to rise after being knocked asunder. The party defeats the opponents after achieving advantage with their tactics.
As they approach the ruined town of Berez, a light can be seen on the other side of the stream next to the trail. Gilly swims across to find great menhirs set in a circle with a WARY-looking woman behind the largest stone glaring at the party from afar. She returns and the whole party (sans Victor) cross the stream and talk to the WARY woman. She says she spies on the witch, Baba Lysaga, on behalf of the Raven worshipers in Vallaki. She talks about how the witch has scarecrows as sentries, has goats that she eats or does rituals every Sunday, that she flies around in a giant's skull and that she periodically sends her scarecrows to skirmish with the Martikov family at the winery. A few weeks past they brought back a green glowing gem and since, Baba Lysaga's hut has sprouted tree trunk legs and walks about. She also tells a myth that Baba Lysaga was once Strahd nursemaid and bestowed magic power unto him in the name of Mother Night. She was banished by the queen but still seeks to aid Strahd however she can. She wages war against the Raven folk.
The party ask the Book of Answers on how to defeat the witch. It replies that they cannot defeat the witch as things currently stand and that the gem is under the rug. Also the witch is weakest while she performs the ritual that has given her such longevity of life. The party comes up with a plan where Gilly will sneak into the hut when she flies over to the goat pen. Victor casts a spell and Gilly becomes invisible.
She easily eludes two scarecrows and climbs up the legs of the hut. She cannot open the door and climbs to a window. She pries open the window. The hut seems to look around. She finds an illusion of a baby in a crib on top of the rug. She moves the rug and pries the nails out of the floor boards. The gem rests in a hole with teeth ready to chomp on any intruding limbs. Gilly thinks she can hear her party members offering advice but eventually reaches in. She fails! She inspires herself to succeed. She succeeds! She quickly scurries out of the hut, freeing two cages of ravens that are hung by the front door and escapes just as the flying skull returns. "Nooooo!" Baba Lysaga yells.
The party then decides to kill to the old lady as she takes a bath. They hear Baba Lysaga kill the goats and then peep through the window and watch the old lady get in the bathtub (ewwwww). Gilly picks the lock on the door and Roger unleashes a fireball into the hut. The rest of the party charge in to attack the scarecrows. A bloody Baba Lysaga comes out of the burning hut and raises her arms. She makes a gesture and transforms into a swarm of flies and disappears into the night. The party quickly dispatch of the scarecrows after learning they are susceptible to fire and look through the hut. They find a chest but do not open it after noticing a glyph of warding upon it. They torch the hut to the ground.
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